What they do well
- You can install the system from an image or buy hardware that has it preinstalled, then set everything up in a browser.
- The app store is the main interface. Installing an app is one click.
- The interface is friendly for people who do not want to touch a terminal.
- CasaOS also installs on top of an existing supported Linux system with one command.
What kombify is
kombify defines the homelab in a declarative file instead of through clicks. StackKits plans, applies and verifies it. Sign-in with passkeys through Pocket ID, an access policy per service, routing, backup and updates come with the definition. Techstack operates it, and kombify Cloud and kombify AI are optional.How they differ today
Umbrel, CasaOS and ZimaOS start from an image or a script and a browser. Their app store is the main interface, with a large community catalog, and a Compose project can be installed through the store tools. kombify starts from a prepared Linux host and one command. Its main interface is a declarative definition, with Techstack as the app, and its catalog is curated and listed in the use-case catalog. It has no Plex and no Sonarr or Radarr family. Bringing your own Compose project under the homelab’s sign-in, routing and backup is not implemented. Restore in kombify goes into an isolated staging copy, and every install has a local MCP server for your own AI agent.Limits of kombify today
kombify is before 1.0 and releases often. Compatibility is still being verified, see OS compatibility. There is no boot image, so you start from a prepared Linux host. If you want to flash a USB stick and click through an app store, use Umbrel or CasaOS today.Use them together or choose
- Choose Umbrel, CasaOS or ZimaOS if you want the shortest path to running apps and a store with many apps.
- Choose kombify if you want the whole homelab described in one definition that you can review, repeat on a second server and let your own AI agent read.
- They can run on separate machines. Nothing in kombify depends on them.